GEORGE TOWN: Urging Pakatan Harapan supporters not to take the state elections lightly, incumbent Bayan Lepas assemblyman Azrul Mahathir Aziz said it is now different as he will be up against a party president.

Azrul was speaking to his sea of red supporters in his straight fight with Gerakan president Datuk Dominic Lau, the Perikatan Nasional candidate for the Bayan Lepas state seat.

"This time it is a seat being contested by a president of a party. We should not take this lightly," he said outside Dewan Bukit Belah on Saturday (July 29).

Lau on the other hand said he expected Perikatan supporters and those who wanted to make a change to support him.

Earlier with an entourage of nearly 100 supporters, Lau was the first to arrive at the nomination centre.

Clad in a white shirt, he was seen waiting near the centre as early as 8.10am and was joined by supporters and well-wishers.

The 55-year-old is going up against Azrul, 47, who arrived slightly later with hundreds of red-clad supporters waving the Pakatan Harapan flag and cheering him on.

The straight fight will see Lau go up against the incumbent PKR candidate.

A semi-urban seat Bayan Lepas has 64% of Malay voters.